Author Notes
With sleepovers came a request from my daughter for us to make Moose-y Party Dessert. The dessert was very pretty for its presentation, and then all mayhem would break loose as the sleepover guests would dive bomb into dessert. In those days, we made a big meringue shell and filled it with a chocolatey mousse-like pudding that Eva spelled as "moose". We would crumble cookies into the base of the hollowed out meringue, filled with mousse, add whipped cream, and decorate it with chocolate syrup, chocolate sprinkles, M&M's - what have you. Thinking of this memory from Eva's childhood, I switched mango for chocolate, added a little rum in a few places, and made raspberry and mango purees to replace the chocolate. Instead of cookies, a little homemade blueberry jam is tucked just under the lip of the hollowed out meringue. I modified a BA recipe for mango pudding as the starting point for making the switch from a chocolate dessert. It's a party treat, and best finished in one sitting! —Bevi
Ingredients
- For the Meringue and the Mango Pudding
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5
large egg whites at room temperature
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1 cup
sugar
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1/4 teaspoon
cream of tartar
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1 tablespoon
fresh lime juice
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1/2 cup
water
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2 teaspoons
unflavored gelatin
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1
ripe mango
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1/2 cup
sour cream or a combination of sour cream, mascarpone, and/or vanilla yogurt
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1/2 cup
whole milk
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1/3 cup
sugar
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1 to 2 tablespoons
dark rum
- For the Raspberry and Mango Purees, the Rum Whipped Cream, and the Assembly:
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6 ounces
fresh raspberries
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2 cups
chopped mango
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2 tablespoons
sugar
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4 tablespoons
water
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2 tablespoons
lime juice
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2 tablespoons
dark rum
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1 cup
heavy cream
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1 teaspoon
vanilla
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2 teaspoons
dark rum
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1/3 cup
blueberry jam - I used a homemade blueberry and lemon verbena jam - or whatever flavor you would like
Directions
- For the Meringue and the Mango Pudding
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To Make the Meringues: Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 10-inch circle on it, and then flip the parchment paper (make sure you can see the pencil line). Set aside. Using a very clean mixing bowl, beat the egg whites on medium to high speed. Add the cream of tartar. Add the sugar a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat the eggs whites until they form very stiff peaks. Then beat for a minute or two longer.
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Using a rubber spatula, form a circle of meringue onto the parchment paper, and build up a circle shape that resembles a one layer cake - about 1 1/2 inches high. Place in the top third of your oven, and bake anywhere from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. I find that 2 hours is generally the right amount of baking time in my oven. Allow the baked meringue to sit overnight if possible.
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For the Pudding: Mix the lime juice and water in a small saucepan. Sprinkle the gelatin on top of the liquid, and allow to sit for a few minutes. Then, stir over low heat until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Take off the heat and allow to stand until the mixture is cooled, but not completely set.
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Combine the mango, sour cream ( or combination of sour cream, mascarpone, etc.), milk, sugar, and rum in a blender on high speed until smooth. Add the gelatin mixture and blend again. Pour into an 8 or 9 inch glass bowl and place in the refrigerator overnight.
- For the Raspberry and Mango Purees, the Rum Whipped Cream, and the Assembly:
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For the Purees: Add to either a food processor or a blender 3 oz. of raspberries, 2 TBS. water, 1 TBS. of lime juice, and 1TBS. of sugar. Blend until emulsified and pureed. Place the raspberry puree in a ramekin, cover, and refrigerate.
For the mango puree, follow the same directions, but add 2 TBS. of rum in addition to the other ingredients. Place the mango puree in the refrigerator.
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The day of assembly: Place the meringue on a 14" to 15" round platter. Cut out a circle shape from the top of the meringue, leaving about a 2" margin. Gently lift out the crust. The meringue insides may be gooey - that is a good thing. If there are holes or cracks on the floor of the meringue, you can patch in crusty pieces from the lifted top. Crumble the remaining meringue top crust and place back into the meringue shell.
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Spoon the jam evenly around the rim of the meringue top (photo attached). Then, slide a rubber spatula around the sides and base of the mango pudding bowl. With some care you can invert the pudding into the meringue shell. With your spatula, smooth out the pudding so it reaches the sides of the meringue rim. Decorate the top of the pudding with the remaining fruit.
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Use a very cold bowl to make the whipped cream. Mix the heavy cream on high speed, and add the vanilla and the rum. Beat until the peaks are stiff, but don't overbeat. Place the whipped cream in a pastry bag with a fluted tip. Pipe little stars around the rim of the meringue, and around the base. Decorate with the fruit purees to your liking. Serve additional fruit purees on the side.
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Note: You can serve the dessert as slices (albeit somewhat jiggly) or go for it sleepover style and serve in small cups or glasses. We always used plastic cups at the sleepovers.
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